Maintaining an SI policy

Employers are required to renew their self-insurance policy on a yearly basis

Renewal process

Self-insuring employers must renew their status on an annual basis. We will notify a self-insuring employer 120 days prior to the renewal period. You must submit all renewal information no later than 90 days prior to the renewal date. If you do not renew your self-insuring status timely, we'll terminate your right to self-insure and return the policy to the Ohio State Insurance Fund.

If you're a privately held company, you must submit the most current financial statements to BWC's self-insured department as a PDF attachment via email. Please include your policy number and company name as part of this submission.

Once we approve your status renewal, we'll mail you a Certificate of Employer's Right to Pay Compensation Directly no later than 30 days prior to the renewal date.

Reporting paid compensation and case reserves

Once a year, self-insuring employers must complete the Report of Paid Compensation and Case Reserves (SI-40) online. This report covers all compensation payments made by an employer from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 each year. The report must be submitted no later than the last day in February each year.

Important: BWC may estimate compensation payment amounts for employers that fail to file the SI-40. BWC may adjust the estimate if the employer submits the information at a later date.

The SI-40 captures all paid compensation a self-insuring employer paid in the reporting year by type. Based on the total amount of paid compensation reported, we calculate your semiannual assessment amount.

In addition to completing the SI-40, you must submit annually a back-up report that supports each of the payment categories. This information assists our self-insured department in validating the accuracy of the SI-40 information.

Email this back-up report to the BWC self-insured department. Please review the instructions below regarding specific information to include in the report.

In the subject line of your email, include the policy number with the SI-40 back-up report as the subject. (Example: Policy 2000#### YEAR SI-40 Back-up)

Important: An employer that cancels their self-insurance policy is still required to report compensation and case reserves each year until there have been at least 10 years of reported compensation below the annual minimum rate. Refer to Understanding SI assessment rates for more information.

A cancelled self-insuring employer is also still responsible for the ongoing administration and payment of claims.

Semiannual assessments

Important: Self-insuring employers can now request to receive notice about their invoices via email. You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter, BWC eNews. Use the Request eNotices service offering to enroll.

In addition to directly paying all compensation and medical costs, you must pay semiannual assessments to BWC based on a percentage of your claim payments reported on the SI-40. These assessments fund BWC and the Ohio Industrial Commission administrative costs, safety and hygiene services, the Self-Insured Employers' Guaranty Fund (SIEGF) and the mandatory self-insured surplus fund.

Additional security

We may also require additional security to mitigate any financial risk that was identified as part of the yearly renewal process. This security requirement is based on a combination of an employer's financial and claim exposure. Refer to the SI securitization methodology for more information.

Excess insurance

A self-insuring employer may obtain excess insurance, through an insurance corporation, to indemnify all or part of a claims loss. Excess insurance is not required. However, if you do obtain this coverage, the current law sets the limit from any one disaster or event in excess of at least $50,000.

Under an excess policy, you retain a pre-determined amount of liability and the excess carrier reimburses you for claims losses above these thresholds. The direct liability for the claim administration and payments remains with your company throughout the life of the claim.

In the event your company defaults, we can seek reimbursement from these same excess insurance policies in place of an employer.

In an effort to collect the most extensive and current data possible from a self-insuring employer, we will request the summary or declaration pages for all excess insurance policies. We may also request historical excess insurance information from employers identified as being an increased financial risk.

Claims administration

Unless we permit otherwise, a self-insuring employer must have a company office located in Ohio and must designate one or more employees (known as the Ohio Administrator) to be knowledgeable and capable of administering an efficient workers' compensation program. The claims administration process includes, but is not limited to:

The allowance or disallowance of claims.

Payment of compensation and benefits.

Maintaining claim files.

Making the appropriate information available to the injured worker and/or their representatives for inspection.

Assisting employees in filing their applications for benefits.

Completing the necessary forms for processing a workers' compensation claim.

You may retain a third-party administrator (TPA) or an individual to assist in handling workers' compensation claims. However, the ultimate responsibility for the administration and processing of claims resides with you.

You must house your workers' compensation claim files at an Ohio location. If you want a different location, you must obtain approval from us.